Filament winding is typically the process of winding a fiber material with a resin around a mounted mandrel. The process of filament winding is generally used to create circular composite products with a hollow core. In winding multiple layers around the mandrel, the windings for the different layers usually run in the same direction. This can result in a weaker composite product or a heavier composite product using more fiber material for additional winds to achieve a strength objective.
To set a new winding direction, the mandrel is removed from its mount and remounted with a different orientation. This can result in the twisting and knotting of the fiber material. One solution involves cutting the fiber material, reattaching the fiber material to the mandrel, and separately winding layers having different winding directions. This, however, adds complications which can make it difficult to fully automate a winding process involving different layers with different winding directions.